Our Current Book:
How to Save the City
by Paul Chatterton
This book is a challenge. Not a challenge to read - it's engrossing, troubling, energising all at the same time. But it does challenge us (me, you, A Fleet For Change, every socially/environmentally conscious individual and company out there) to make some serious changes in the way we approach action against climate change.
This is not the work of individuals working in isolation. To effectively respond to the challenges ahead, we need what I call a "breakaway coalition" of emergency first responders - a network of people across business, research, civic and public sectors who are prepared to support and build a new kind of city based on equality, regeneration, and the common good.
The scary bit? We, and our predecessors, have already wasted a lot of time, and decarbonisation of cities simply isn't happening fast enough...
The view from the Climate Action Leeds city-centre hub - a brilliant facility hosting wonderful groups and events invested in the decarbonisation of the city, alongside social responsibility and future economic and environmental wellbeing.
The energising bit? Paul Chatterton has broken down how we approach the issues, based on our self-perceived roles within the community (of which he provides 9 types, but advises there will be more). He challenges us to change our perceptions, and how we focus our time and resources, to make our cities future-proof, and create communities that function in a low-carbon, economically-resilient way.
...imagine a city where there is a genuine and significant reduction of individual vehicles. [...] At the scale of dense populations, mass transit for public use is the most efficient, safe, quickest, and cost-effective way to achieve this. [...] public transport [...] has to be radically re-imagined from what it is today.
This certainly isn't a tome of scaremongering - although the statistics are concerning (as Paul points out, scientists are running out of words to say that we're running out of time), its solution based. The chapters on Players (that;s us) and Moves (our actions) provide clarity on our roles, alongside effective action, which yes, includes social activism.
This book is based on a realistic hope for a better future, and that it can still turn out well.
Complementing Paul's incredibly well researched words, are fabulous (and beautifully inclusive) sketches from artist James McKay, which consolidate the key points in each chapter. If you're like me, you'll be straight in there scribbling notes in the margins, messaging friends and colleagues about key points, researching other books by the same author and diving head first into doughnut economics. After all, isn't that what we all need to do? Get stuck in: How to Save the City: A Guide for Emergency Action
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Lizzie, our Funding and Networking Lead, and a passionate Agent for Change, was lucky enough to attend the book launch for How To Save The City, and to meet other passionate individuals, including councillors, academics, student, climate activists, sustainability professionals and more. It's all too easy to get overwhelmed by the scale of climate change, and think we're helpless to act - this book shows thats far from true.
A Fleet For Change is on a mission to provide safe, sustainable, shared transport. If you'd like to be part of the journey, please head to our Get Involved page to either register to take part in our research on safe transport, or message us on the ‘Get in Touch’ form there.
